Paul J. Pantano, Jr. focuses his practice in the areas of energy, commodities and derivatives law. He represents swap and commodity dealers, brokerage firms, energy companies and trade associations in a wide variety of regulatory, investigative, litigation and transactional matters.
Paul regularly represents clients in investigations and regulatory matters before the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), self-regulatory organizations, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
Chambers USA (2022) ranks Paul in Band 1 for Energy: Electricity (Regulatory & Litigation) - USA - Nationwide, and Band 2 for Capital Markets: Derivatives - USA - Nationwide, and is recognized in the “Spotlight Tables” for Derivatives: Mainly Regulatory - USA - Nationwide and Derivatives: Enforcement - USA - Nationwide. Chambers Global (2021) ranks him in Band 1 for Energy: Electricity (Regulatory & Litigation) - USA, Band 2 for Capital Markets: Derivatives - USA, and in the Spotlight Table for Capital Markets: Derivatives: Mainly Regulatory - USA. He is also recognized in the 2022 edition of Best Lawyers.
Government Investigations
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Represented scores of swap dealers, futures commission merchants, wholesale energy and commodity dealers, merchants, financial institutions, producers and end users in CFTC, FERC, joint CFTC-FERC, and SRO investigations, many of which were closed without the initiation of enforcement actions
- Negotiated many settlements with the CFTC, FERC and SROs on behalf of CFTC registrants and energy and commodity trading companies
Acquisitions
- Represented several U.S. and international financial institutions in purchasing and selling derivatives and commodities businesses and transaction portfolios
Structured Transactions
- Represented financial institutions in monetizing commodity and derivatives transactions
- Represented financial institutions in structured intermediation arrangements, commodity repurchase agreements, and secured hedging transactions
- Represented financial institutions and energy marketers in structured renewable energy transactions
- Represented commodity suppliers and hedge providers in long-term prepaid commodity purchase and sale transactions
Prior to entering private practice, Paul was a trial attorney in the Division of Enforcement of the CFTC, where he represented the Commission in numerous civil and administrative enforcement actions.
Paul is a past chair of the American Bar Association Committee on Derivatives and Futures Law. He is a member of the Law & Compliance Division of the Futures Industry Association, the Energy Bar Association and a former adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law School, where he co-taught a graduate law course on the regulation of commodity and derivatives transactions. He is a member of the Duke Law Alumni Board of Visitors.